


helplessness blues

by enbyofdionysus



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe- No Supernatural, F/F, Witch AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-09
Updated: 2017-10-09
Packaged: 2019-01-15 07:00:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12316095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enbyofdionysus/pseuds/enbyofdionysus
Summary: In Louisiana, Hazel Levesque had seen her fair share of witchy shops. But she had to admit there was something charming and lovely about the small pagan corner store on Southbury St. That something was the cashier.





	helplessness blues

**Author's Note:**

> This is part of a fluff series I'm working on for fun on Tumblr b

In Louisiana, Hazel Levesque had seen her fair share of witchy shops. But she had to admit there was something charming and lovely about the small pagan corner store on Southbury St.

It may have been because of the pink, tattered wood-cut sign out front advertising _Venus & Voodoo _that pulled at Hazel’s artistic heartstrings. It may have been because of the library aesthetic the store gave off with its short book shelves and large, gaping windows. It may have been because of the plethora of available herbs, teas, and candles concentrated in the Greek and Roman section – Hazel didn’t have a lot of money to spend on the deities she honored, but she always liked to place a small honor on her altar when she could.

Or maybe, just maybe, Hazel was fond of the tiny, quirky corner store because of–

“The cashier,” said Nico.

He said it very flatly, but with a look on his face that said _Got you_.

Hazel scowled at him across the bookshelf that separated their aisles. The shelf was small, barely reaching Hazel’s shoulder, but it was decorated with small figurines of Greek and Roman gods. On Hazel’s side, where she stood was a figurine of Pluto. She was grabbing a small bag of black tea that was set in front of it. On her brother’s side was a statue of Hades. Nico wasn’t grabbing anything.

Feigning innocence Hazel asked, “What?”

Nico, his face gaunt and soft, lifted his eyebrows. He said, “You keep looking toward the counter.”

“I’m looking at the crystal display they have,” Hazel argued.

Nico replied, “You’ve hated crystal work since you were five.”

Hazel tried not to look put out. She cast another look over her shoulder at the counter.

Behind the cash register on a stool was a young woman only a few years older than Hazel. Her skin was a soft brown color and her dark, chestnut hair was pulled back in a bun that was falling apart at the seams. Bits of hair fell from it and onto her shoulders, across her face. Still, it looked elegant. Her clothes were the same way.

The cashier was wearing a ripped t-shirt from some obscure band Hazel didn’t know. And over that she was wearing what Hazel could only describe as a wrap that had been a black bed sheet in its past life. It was almost as if the girl were doing everything in her power to look sloppy, drab, unattractive. And yet Hazel couldn’t seem to take her eyes off her.

“Help me,” she said out loud, but the softness of her voice meant she’d intended it for the universe and no one else in particular.

“How many times have you come in here?” Nico asked. He was tilting books off the shelf with his fingers to read the titles. In the gray light from the window beside them, he looked almost ghostly. “It can’t be that hard to talk to her.”

Hazel countered, “Have you talked to Percy yet?” It was a low blow, but Nico had drawn first. Percy Jackson was the TA in Nico’s Intro to Social Work class.

Her brother winced. “That’s…” Hazel heard the word ‘different’ hang from his lips. And then Nico said, “Fair.”

They were quiet for a moment, a pair of sad gays.

Then, “Want to go to Orion’s after this?” Orion’s was a small cafe just down the road. It was kitschy and the coffee was too expensive. Hazel liked their bagels.

“Only if you’re paying,” said Nico. He had finally found a book he liked and was currently flipping through its pages. With Nico it was less about what the book was about and more about how the book felt in his hands. She had once watched him excitedly pick up a book on aliens only to put it back when he found the pages were ragged with artificial age.

“I can’t pay,” Hazel said. She gently nudged one of the figurines on the shelf. “I’m poor.”

“Alas,” Nico replied dryly. But she knew he would buy her lunch anyway. He enjoyed being an older brother too much.

Hazel thumbed the black tea bag in her hand, trying to keep her heart from thrumming in her ears as she said, “I’m gonna go buy this real quick.”

She waited, expecting Nico to give a teasing comeback or at least some advice. Instead, Nico just nodded.

The trip up to the front of the store seemed to take both centuries and only a few short seconds. Hazel felt as if her heart were going to explode the closer she got to the counter. Every step gave her a new detail that set her skin ablaze: a pentagram necklace over the cashier’s chest, the dove tattoo on the back of her wrist, the scent of a flowery incense.

And then Hazel was at the counter and the cashier – _Piper_ , Hazel abruptly remembered – was no longer The Cashier, but a very human-looking girl with gnawed finger nails, a gently curved nose, and eyes the color of tree trunks on a crisp autumn morning.

And then Piper _smiled_.

And Hazel _ached_.

“Just the tea?” Piper asked. She set down what Hazel recognized as a GRE study guide and then stepped up to the register. Despite the old, eclectic feel of the store, the register was a touch-screen and within a couple of seconds the tea was out of Hazel’s hand and being scanned.

Piper asked, “Would you like a bag?”

Hazel swallowed once, twice. Her throat was too dry. “That’s okay,” she croaked.

Piper smiled again and handed her the tea. Hazel took it, feeling the possibilities between them vanishing, vanishing. Piper told her the price and Hazel handed her a sad looking dollar. And then Piper told her to have a good day and the possibilities were gone, gone, gone.

Except.

They weren’t.

“I love your hair,” Hazel said. Fortunately, it came out relatively soft and not as a shout. Still, Piper looked startled. She lifted her hand to her head as if she had forgotten she _had_ hair.

“Oh,” she said finally with a laugh. That laugh, Hazel thought, could charm the world. “Thanks. I just threw it up.”

Still, Hazel insisted, “I always love your hair.” She said it even more softly than before so that the implication would be there if Piper was looking for it. Her throat, still too dry, had made the words come out scratchy and intimate.

Again, Piper looked startled. But this time it wasn’t because someone was complimenting her on something she’d put no effort into. She seemed to shift her weight behind the counter. She looked taller, her shoulders angled forward. “Thanks,” she said again, but her voice was as low as Hazel’s.

Hazel wanted to say more, but she felt that if she did she might be coming on too strong. She wanted Piper’s number, yes, to sit up late in her dorm texting and talking and laughing like her roommate did with her boyfriend. But this wasn’t something to be hurried. Hazel would be back in another few days. Piper would still be there, serene and unconventionally magical.

Hazel had planted the seed. Now, she just needed to water it.

Hazel offered Piper a smile, a genuine one free from nerves.

Piper smiled back. Her eyes darted across Hazel’s face as she did with a newfound interest.

And then Hazel left the store, biting her lip, heart racing, fingers twisting. It had begun raining outside, the smallest of drizzles. She let each drop kiss her skin for a moment, then two. Then she buried her hands into her jacket pockets and looked up toward the dark clouds and smiled, smiled, smiled.

She tapped the glass of the window where Nico stood reading to get his attention.

This afternoon, she thought, was worthy of _two_ bagels.

**Author's Note:**

> If you liked this, please comment!


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